Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease.

Dark Chocolate Layer:

Sift Flour and Salt together into a bowl and set asideIn a large mixing bowl melt the dark chocolate chips by mixing them into the melted butteradd sugar, coffee, cocoa powder and vanillaadd eggs 1 at a time while continuing to mix batter with a spoon or whiskAdd in flour mixture a little bit at a time making sure not to over mix batter. Flour should be fully incorporated into batter but batter will not be smoothspread eveninly onto cookie sheet

White Chocolate Layer:

Sift Flour and Salt together into a bowl and set asideIn a large mixing bowl melt the white chocolate chips by mixing them into the melted butteradd sugar and vanillaadd eggs 1 at a time while continuing to mix batter with a spoon or whiskAdd in flour mixture a little bit at a time making sure not to over mix batter.spread eveninly over the dark chocolate layerBake for 14-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Pour cold heavy cream and milk into a bowl. Sprinkle the contents of two Knox Gelatin Packets over the surface of the milk mixture.

Use a blender or food processor to purée berries with cold apple juice until it is a thick, smooth, and soup like consistency. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle the contents of two Knox Gelatin Packets over the surface of the fruit mixture.

After the gelatin has sat for 6-10 minutes or "bloomed" add your Matcha green tea powder and 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar to taste.

Pour the matcha mixture into a pot and slowly bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Remove from heat and pour a small layer into small glass bowls or molds (sprayed with cooking spray) or directly into serving glasses.

Place into a refrigerator and let set for 25 - 60 minutes. Panna Cotta should be firm, jiggly and no longer a liquid.

Now add 1/2 to 1 cup sugar to your berry mixture and pour it into a pot. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil while stirring/ whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and pour a layer (same size as your Matcha layer) over the matcha and refrigerate for an hour.

You can repeat and alternate small even layers in this fashion or just make 2 larger even layers.

If you used a bowl or mold carefully run a knife around the edges to release your Panna Cotta onto a plate.

Pro Tip- We LOVE setting Panna Cottas directly into Martini, Champagne, and small Mason Jars so they can be eaten directly out of the glassware for an elegant and easy presentation.

In the picture below, I dipped a pastry brush into some blackberry jam and smeared it against the plate. I built different shaped layers of Panna Cotta on the plate using cookie cutters. I drizzled some White Chocolate Syrup on the plate and garnished with fresh blackberries and used a small cheese grater to grate white chocolate over the Panna Cotta.I hope you have as much fun making (and eating) this exotic dessert as we did!Enjoy!

The Holidays are here and we couldn't be more excited! This Fall we saw an absolutely adorable Pie Station at a wedding. The Southern Bride had all of the Ladies in her family bring their signature pie in lieu of a traditional wedding cake. Our Event Staff and Servers helped dish out multiple pieces of pie to each Guest as they came through the line. Adorable mini chalkboard signs sat in front of each delicious pie giving much deserved recognition to the loving relative who crafted it.

This is such a fun and cost effective way to create a memorable and delectable desert station at your holiday soiree. Savory Pies (including pizza) can also make an appearance. Inexpensive plates can be glued to candle sticks or upside glasses and then painted to make beautiful platforms to display your pies.

We wanted to leave you with a few of our favorite pie recipes to make (or ask one of our Chefs to make) for your next party.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Keep the unbaked pie shell in the fridge until ready to use…the crust should be nice and cold before baking (but not frozen).Whisk all other ingredients together, adding buttermilk in at the very end to avoid curdling.Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cold, unbaked pie shell and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until you get an even jiggle throughout. You want the same kind of jiggle you would see on a panna cotta. It should not be too firm, because it will continue to cook and set up as it cools.Allow to cool for one hour before serving.

Preheat oven to 350*F. Peel tomatoes by dipping in boiling water for 10 seconds or so to split skins.

Thickly slice tomatoes, then layer in baked and cooled pie shell, sprinkling each layer with green onions, basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Combine mayonnaise and cheese and spread over tomatoes.

Bake 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Tiramisu Pie

Ingredients

3 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from 1 1/2 envelopes)

2 tablespoons water

6 large egg yolks

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 quart whole milk

One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pound mascarpone (2 cups)

3 tablespoons Calvados or other apple brandy

1 1/4 pounds gingersnaps, 1/4 pound finely crushed

Directions:

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the yolks, cornstarch, salt and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar until the sugar is moistened. In a large saucepan, heat the milk just until steaming. Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Pour the mixture into the milk in the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until boiling and thick, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the gelatin, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk in the mascarpone.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the Calvados with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar at high power for 10 seconds, just until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Arrange one third of the whole gingersnaps in a 9-by-13-by-2 1/2-inch baking dish. Lightly brush the gingersnaps with some of the Calvados and top with one-third of the pumpkin custard. Repeat the layering twice more with the remaining whole gingersnaps, Calvados and custard. Sprinkle half of the crushed gingersnaps on top and press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the tiramisù. Freeze overnight. Let the tiramisù stand at room temperature for 6 hours, until thawed. Sprinkle with the remaining gingersnaps. Serve.

So I can get pretty Pinterest wasted like the other 100 million strung out users who stay up past 3am painting rainbow honey bears to use as vases for re-growing scallions.

Or is that just me?

Moving forward, it's no coincidence that Pinterest's largest demographic is made up of Women between the ages of 25-34, which also happens to be the age of the average Bride.

Pie Bars, Crepe Cakes and Cupcake Stations have replaced the Wedding Cakes at many weddings I have worked.

Wedding Decor and Favors are made by following Pinterest tutorials. Personalized Mason Jar Mugs, Wine Bottle Candle Sticks, and homemade soaps are just a few of the ones I have spotted.

For some couples, it truly is about budget and saving your money for more practical things then engraved Swarovski wedding favors. For others it is about the personalization, the actual creative process and having a wedding as individual as you are.

Bonus: The bragging rights if you can actually pull it off are pretty sweet too.

So what should we do as Wedding Professionals to adapt so we aren't left feeling like a Cabby in the age of Uber?

It's all about discovering our Client's needs, presentation, marketing, and of course Building Value in our products and services. Let's be honest, there are thousands of Pinterest Fails online. There is a reason why we are called Wedding Professionals. Our cakes don't look like the ones at www.cakewrecks.com.

A Florist could offer a DIY Bridal Bouquet Kit that includes flowers, floral tape, Styrofoam, and instructions. She could even offer paid classes or workshops to teach DIY Brides how to craft Wedding Bouquets.

A Wedding DJ could advertise and sell custom Wedding Playlists on her website.

A venue can offer a Sunday Brunch wedding with a Mimosa Bar and a Crepe Station at half the cost of their Saturday evening weddings.

Be Creative and come up with alternative services, packages, and pricing for the DIY Couple.

Be prepared to overcome common objections (such as budget) when you are pitching to a DIY Couple. A lot of Clients are truly unaware of the hidden costs of rentals when using a unequipped venue.

Remember to build a great rapport with your Couples by listening to their needs, showing empathy when needed, and being helpful and informative by providing solutions to their problems.

Last but not least if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Use Pinterest to advertise your business by pinning blog articles, photos, videos, recipes and other fabulous content from past weddings to lead folks back to your site.

Wedding Professionals please comment below if you offer any DIY Wedding options and tell us about them.

]]>Tue, 03 Nov 2015 18:26:51 GMThttp://www.capitalcitychefs.com/blog/guide-to-planning-your-holiday-partiesThe Holidays always have a way of sneaking up behind my back while I am still facing what remains of my lingering summer responsibilities . It can be a little hard to picture planning the perfect Thanksgiving Dinner or Corporate Holiday Party while you are still squatting mosquitos and finally knocking out those back-to-school dental appointments.With that said, I have created a Free Holiday Event Planning Checklist for you to print off and use as a guide for planning the perfect holiday Party. I wish you all a stress free Holiday season. Enjoy!